3.5 stars.

This is not only a quick, fast-paced read, but it's one that gets under the skin of the reader as we are thrust into a complicated and multi-layered plot. I devoured this one in one sitting, not because it's rather short, but because I couldn't put it down. The first chapter is addicting and confusing enough to make you devour the pages and really open your mind up to these amazing and complicated characters and the devilish things they do.

FEAR doesn't hold back on the creep-factor as we witness enough acts and scenes that do not hold back on their wickedness and the scare tactics in this one are enough to chill you on the hottest summer day. Kurbjuweit not only builds characters that we grow to love and hate, but they are imperfect, honest, and grippingly real. The family in this one is one that you really feel for as you get an inside look into how this antagonist is an evil genius and really toys with the family and these scenes are chilling, terrifying, and will ensure the reader is constantly checking for the evils that lurk in the shadows.

This read is one I will definitely recommend to any crime fiction fan. Part domestic drama, part character study, and part brilliantly thrilling, I couldn't get enough and thoroughly enjoyed these characters that this plot all the way to the jaw-dropping finale that I never saw coming.

Where should I begin? Perhaps with how I was sure that Fear would suck me in and drag me along to terrifying lengths of psychological horrors. Perhaps with how I expected to be met with fast paced interactions and nail-biting suspense. But, unfortunately, I cannot say such things, because instead, I was met with a seemingly never-ending slump through a middle-aged man's mind. How he felt about his beautiful wife, the kids he built Lego with and the Michelin star meals he ate. It truly failed in thrilling me — even in the tiniest ways possible.


From the get go, I anticipated murder, sinister characters, bribes and difficult positions. Instead, what I got was the chance to wade through the inner thoughts of a middle-class architect with serious daddy issues. The stalker was not terrifying or intrusive. He wasn't much of a stalker, either, if I'm honest. (Unless you take into account the one time he buzzed the gate open for the protagonists wife.) The poems he left, sure they were disgusting in nature, but that didn't make the character frightening like a real stalker ought to be. Dieter Tiberius was truly nothing but a lazy slob addicted to old movies and flushing his toilet.


As for the conclusion, I can say that it really should have ended with Randolph's big revelation — which, if you have read Fear already, should know what I'm talking about because it's literally the only interesting thing that occurs. The following chapters were notoriously unnecessary.

Though, credit given where credit due, Fear did tackle some serious social issues, in it's own way, but did it have to do it in such an uninteresting fashion? The eventless chapters combined with the less-than-appealing writing style made me sure I'd give up on it, that I'd put it down and forget all about the tedious lives of the Tiefenhaler's, but instead I persevered, though that was simply due to my hatred of being defeated.

Perhaps others, those with more of a likening to semi-autobiographies, will enjoy this in a way I very much did not.

Randolph and his family move into a new flat. A man called Dieter Tiberius lives in the basement flat below them and becomes fixated on Randolph’s wife and children. He sends them letters saying that they were sexually abusing their children. They try everything they can to reason with him but nothing works, they even seek legal advice and go to the police but nothing helps. What more can Randolph do to protect his family?

The is the second book I’ve read within a month expecting a tense psychological thriller that turns out to be something different.

I had high hopes when it opened with his father in jail. Why was he in jail? Well you find that out pretty quickly, (I don’t want to spoil it for you) then it goes back in time and you basically get Randolph’s life history, as it documents his relationship with his father, then later his wife and brother.

It does go backwards and forwards between the past and the time they are being terrorised by Dieter but with all the back and forth I felt it lost a lot of the tension.

Then there was our narrator, Randolph. I found it really hard to relate to him, not just because he’s a man but I also found him condescending, selfish with a tendency to waffle on a bit. Okay it is horrible to be accused of any crime, especially if you’re innocent, but I kept thinking to myself why don’t you just move?

Overall not my style but if you’re a fan of character driven plots focusing on family relationships then it might be for you.

Fear is written extremely well. It is written from the point of view of Randolph, who moves into a flat with his wife, Rebecca, and their two children. Not long after moving in, Rebecca begins to receive “love letters” and poems from Dieter, who lives in the flat below. These letters then progress to make serious allegations against Randolph and Rebecca, who obviously feel threatened and unsafe.

The book jumps between this current turmoil and exploring Randolph’s childhood and relationship with his father, and later his relationship with his wife.

Fear held so much promise and, during the first half of the book, I could really feel the tension building and was expecting some hugely fearful act from Dieter. However, it never really got going for me. I felt there was so much more that could have been given.

The translation is excellent, and I do think this book could have had so much more potential. The writing is, however, exceptional and the fact that Fear is based on a true story makes it even more disturbing.

Thank you to Orion Publishing for a review copy of this book.

This was a sort of meh book for me. There's nothing wrong with it, but nothing that makes me want to force it into the hands of everyone I meet. The only character I got to "know" was the narrator and while I could relate to some of his childhood emotions, I didn't like him at all as an adult. (which is what he is for the majority of the book)

The occasional look at the psychological effect of becoming an adult (as in separate from your parents) was interesting. There's also no doubt that creating fear and trauma don't have to include actual violence.

Um thriller que é devagar. Agradável de ler, algumas ideias interessantes, mas nada memorável.

Dit boek word een ‘literaire thriller’ genoemd. Nou is het boek inderdaad op een interessante wijze geschreven, voelde het voor mij toch niet aan als literatuur. Literatuur zet me doorgaans meer aan het denken. Het zou ook kunnen dat ik door de vele Duitse benamingen van plaatsen en straten toch wat uit het verhaal gehaald werd. Desondanks best een leuke thriller. Hij is meer twee sterren waard, maar door de schrijfwijze gun ik hem er drie.